Two Prisoners Are Being Separately Interrogated by the Police

question 135

Multiple Choice

Two prisoners are being separately interrogated by the police. The prisoners must decide whether or not to confess to a crime. In this prisoner's dilemma the choice with the highest outcome for the prisoners is to

• A)confess
• B)not confess
• C)confess, but only if the other prisoner does not confess
• D)confess, but only if the other prisoner also confesses

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Definitions:

Reciprocal Determinism

A concept in psychology proposing that an individual's behavior is both influenced by and influences their personal factors and the environment.

Personality

An individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms behind those patterns.

Behavior

The actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in response to environmental stimuli.

Variable-Ratio

A schedule of reinforcement where a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses, commonly used in operant conditioning.